


The Shot Heard Round The World

by FantasyDreamer1



Category: Red Dawn (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-13
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 17:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/801468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasyDreamer1/pseuds/FantasyDreamer1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice Mason left Spokane to find a life that wouldn't remind her of the boy who broke heart. But three years later, she returns home to visit her family. Plans to reconnect with her little sister are cut short when a foreign invasion occurs. Now, she must fight to defend those she cares about. Putting aside years of bitterness is hard, but Alice must learn how if she wants to survive, and get her sister back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There and Back Again

"C'MON MATTIE! THROW THE BALL!"

The pretty blonde sitting a few seats down from the onlooker turned around to see one of the father's of the high school football team shouting at the quarterback. She turned forward just in time to see number 9 on the Wolverines run the ball himself. Instead of handing it off or throwing it down the field, the quarterback had decided to run it. Which, by definition, was a ball hog. But the girl couldn't speak bad of him. Matt Eckert was a family friend, and she loved the high school senior like he was a little brother of hers. At one point, she thought he would've been, but those days were long in the past, and she preferred not to dwell on them.

As the coach of the Wolverines called a timeout, she glanced at the cheerleaders with the pause in the game. Her face lit up in a smile as her gaze landed on the small form of her sixteen year old sister. She hadn't seen her in three years and was excited to be back. At the age of twenty, Alice had gone off to Columbia University in New York for college. With plane tickets being so expensive nowadays, especially flying cross-country, she had only visited once. It had been three years since that visit, and she missed her family. With the school having renovations going on, she had decided now would be the time to visit.

"Get within field goal range!" Alice heard the football coach shout to Matt. And instead of passing the ball, he ran it yet again. But did get within field goal range.

But, the kicker missed it and cost the Wolverines the game. She sighed as she gathered her stuff up before descending the stairs of the bleachers. Alice leaned against a light pole while she waited for her sister to finish talking with her friends. After a moment, Athena waved goodbye to her friends and turned around, off to find her ride home. The little brunette stopped in her path, her head cocking to the side-like she couldn't believe who was standing in front of her. Alice smiled widely before nodding her head, ensuring her sister it was who she thought. At that instant, Athena dropped her bag where she stood before racing off towards her big sister. Alice laughed as her little sister tackled her in a hug.

"Oh my God! What are you doing here?" Athena asked as she stepped back from the hug, but before Alice could even answer her question, the brunette gasped before twirling one of her sister's curls around her finger. "You're blonde! Oh my God, I love it!"

Alice grinned. "You like it, really?" She asked, and her sister nodded her head.

Alice was a natural blonde, inheriting the hair color from her mother. But after her mother's death at the age of fourteen, she had dyed her hair dark brown because she wanted nothing that would remind her of her deceased parent. However, after moving to New York for college, she had let her hair grow back out to it's natural light blonde. She was proud of that decision because she felt it was more her, and it helped her feel closer with her mother, which was something she wanted now. But, of course, no one from this town had ever seen her with blonde hair, except in pictures maybe.

"I do! It looks really great," Athena stated.

"Well, come on. Grab your bag so we can get going. I wanna head down to Josie's and grab a beer," She stated. Josie's Bar and Grill was a restaurant in Spokane, Washington where most everyone hung out after sporting events at the high school. It was close by and provided a friendly atmosphere.

Athena nodded and walked back over to the spot where she had dropped her cheerleading bag. As the younger Mason sister made her way over towards Alice, she heard her name being called behind. She turned around to see her best friend, Erica Martin, walking in her direction. She waved her hand at the blonde girl as she reached her sister. Erica came to stand in front of the two Masons before smiling up at Alice, which the blonde woman returned. Alice used to be a cheerleader in her days at Warwick High, and her name was pretty well-known in the small community and Erica was someone that looked up to the high school graduate.

"Hi, Alice!" Erica greeted in her usual cheery fashion.

"Hey, Erica. That was a nice halftime routine you had out there," She told the girl who smiled proudly at the fact it was being complimented.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed happily before she smiled at the male who had just jogged up beside her. He was still in his football uniform, having just gotten out of the meeting the coach had called right after the game.

"Hey, babe," He said before kissing Erica quickly. "I gotta go change then I'll meet you out front, all right?" Erica nodded her head to his request before the male turned towards Alice.

"Hey, Alice," He said smiling at the girl. She returned it with one of her own.

"Hey, Mattie," She greeted. She hadn't seen him for just as long as she hadn't seen her sister, and she was glad to see him once again.

"You see the game?" He asked and she nodded her head.

"I did. You did great, but you gotta learn to pass the ball, hon. You're not the only one on your team, you've got other players. But, what you did do? You played your best." She smiled at him and he seemed to have brightened up at her words. Then Athena nudged her playfully.

"You see Jed at the game?" She asked in a teasing tone, but the blonde's happy demeanor had instantly changed and her face contorted into a frown.

"No." Came the short response as she dug through her pockets to retrieve the rental car keys she had been given.

The mood around the group instantly changed. Athena knew Matt's older brother was a touchy subject for her sister. For a year and a half, Jed and Alice had dated. But the summer between Alice's sophomore and junior year of high school, the Eckert's mother passed away in a car accident. Not handling the news well, Jed signed up for the Marines a few weeks after her funeral. With him being eighteen and already having graduated high school, he was shipped off to bootcamp within the month. During that entire time of him signing papers and finalizing everything, he pushed Alice away and only spoke to her when absolutely needed. Athena remembered her sister driving to the airport to try to stop Jed from leaving and only returning empty handed and with a broken heart. Alice refused to speak about what had happened between her and Jed at the airport, but it became clear the two had broken up-and what had been said had been harsh.

Despite it being six years since he had left her, just the mention of his name shot a pain through her heart. She had tried to move on from him and forget him, but it had been hard. She had dated a few guys since him, but every one she was with just couldn't measure up to the high standard Jed had left behind. Adults always said that teenagers couldn't understand love and loss, but she could. She had loved him, and no one could tell her differently. And she could truly say that it was not better to have loved and lost than not loved at all.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck, knowing the hurt Alice went through when Jed left. She had been close with him and his father, and both had seen her as part of the family. Often times, Matt thought she would be part of the Eckert family, and he had hoped for it. He liked her, and thought she was a great girl-especially for his brother. But Jed had ruined all chances of that.

"Well, I'm gonna go change. Alice, see you at Josie's, right?" Matt asked as he started to back away from the group. She nodded her head, a smile appearing on her face. Though, to Matt and Athena, they could tell it was forced.

"Of course. Gotta celebrate your almost-victory, right?" She said, a tone of teasing entering her voice. Despite being upset at the fact Jed was in town the same time she was, she wouldn't let it ruin her chances to see her sister and everyone else she cared about.

"Ha ha," Matt said with a roll of his eyes before he turned around and jogged towards the locker room. Alice laughed before waving at him, then she turned to Athena.

"Come on, Thee. Let's get out of here. You can talk with Erica at the bar," She told her little sister who nodded her head before saying goodbye to her friend.

Once in the car, Athena turned to Alice as the older girl started up the rental and headed towards the bar. "We're not gonna make a habit of you only visiting every three years, just so you know," Athena stated matter-of-factly.

Alice could only laugh at how determined her sister sounded, like she had a say in how money was spent. "I'll make a note of that and tell it to my financial advisor who takes my money for college tuition. I'll let her know my little sister said I have to have money in order to visit every few months. I'm sure that'll go over real well." She smiled at her little sister who could only roll her eyes at the sarcastic tone in her sister's voice.

"You're an ass," Athena stated.

"Careful now, that's foul language you're using," She said then grinned as she held her hand up in a measure of height. "Must be this tall to use."

Athena's mouth fell open in a gasp at the joke about her height. She was small, standing at 5'2", and everyone in her life often liked to remind the little one about just how tall she was, or rather not. She knew she was short, and Alice also knew she hated it. That's why she teased her about it. Alice herself wasn't much taller, standing at an average height of 5'5", but she was okay with being on the shorter side. While their father was tall at six foot, both girls inherited their mother's genes of being short.

"That's unfair!" Athena exclaimed as she pulled her sister's hand down before both girls laughed, falling back into the easy routine of sibling teasing. "And totally uncalled for!"

"I think it's perfectly fair and perfectly called for," Alice said as she pulled into the parking lot of Josie'sand parked the car.

Before heading inside, her eyes scanned the parking lot and fell on the all-too-familiar truck of Jed Eckert. She hesitated, unsure if she wanted to risk running into him. She didn't know if she could handle it; she had been away from him for so long and had been so strong about everything. She was so sure that one look at him, and everything she had built back up would come crumbling down around her. Was she willing to take that risk? As soon as the question had popped through her head, she knew the answer was yes. She had to be a big girl, and she couldn't run and hide. She had taught herself to face her fears head-on and that's exactly what she would do.

"You okay?" Athena asked her sister when Alice had stopped in the middle of the parking lot. The blonde girl nodded.

"Yeah, I am."


	2. A Shot in the Dark

While Athena found a table for them to sit in, Alice walked straight towards the bar to order a beer. She'd probably get her sister a Coca-Cola while she was it. After ordering the two drinks, she turned around and leaned back against the wooden bar behind her. She missed being in this place, seeing familiar faces. She smiled; it felt good to be back home.

"And what's your name?"

She glanced to her left to see a male standing there, one she hadn't seen before. He was taller than her and probably stood at about 5'10, maybe an inch taller. He had dark hair and dark brown eyes. His thick eyebrows made him seem more intimidating then he probably realized-or maybe that was how he preferred to come off. She wasn't sure, but she wasn't really in the mood to find out either. She was here to hang with her sister, not flirt with boys.

"Name's Alice," She replied casually, her tone implying she wasn't interested. But like most males, he didn't get the hint.

"Alice? Like Alice in Wonderland?"

A male to her right spoke, and Alice glanced towards him. He was a little taller than his friend, but only by a couple of inches. He too had dark hair, but his eyes were a light green and he appeared a little more engaging and friendly than the first male.

She nodded her head. "Yes, like Alice in Wonderland," She stated with a sigh of annoyance.

"I'm Alex," The first male said, introducing himself then motioned to his friend on the other side of Alice. "And that's Drew."

"Glad to meet you both," Alice said before turning around to grab the drinks she had ordered from the bartender. She gave a nod of her head, and was about to move away from them, but Alex placed a hand on her arm.

"Where you off to in such a hurry? Stick around; talk with us, Wonderland."

Alice's eyes flashed at the use of the nickname. Only one person had ever called her that, and she'd only ever let that one person call her it. And it wasn't this prick who was cruising for a hook-up from her. She took a deep breath to calm herself down from the annoyance they weren't catching on to her hint and the fact they had used Jed's nickname for her. She tried to push past Drew in order to get to the table Athena had found, but Alex slid in front of her and blocked her path. She glared up at him, the drinks in her hand. If he kept at it, she was going to dump Athena's cola all over him.

"I'm not interested, now move," She stated through gritted teeth.

"Come on, you seem a little stressed. We could ease that-"

"I believe the lady said she wasn't interested."

Alice's blue eyes widened in surprise at hearing that voice behind her. It was one she would never be able to forget no matter how hard she tried. Jed was coming to her rescue. Both boys looked intimidated by the tall Marine who was glowering down at them, but neither seemed reluctant to leave right yet.

"Jed. Jed Eckert, right?" Alex asked. Jed simply nodded his head, his eyes still narrowed at them. "And you're in the Air Force now, right?"

"Marines, actually," Jed stated.

"Yeah?" Drew asked. "I got a cousin that joined." It was as if he was trying to say he wasn't scared of Jed because he knew what Marines consisted of because his cousin was one. "Where're you stationed?"

"I was in Najaf," Jed told him.

"Down in California," Alex said. His tone was bordering on a question and a statement. It was as if he had a feeling he was wrong, but he wanted to sound like he knew what he was talking about.

Jed smirked. "Close. Iraq," He said, his tone a little sarcastic, and Alice found her lips twitching up in a smile at his response. After several more seconds ticked by with Jed glaring at the two, they finally backed off and went to bother some other girls.

"I could've handled that myself, thanks," Alice retorted sarcastically, her back still to Jed.

Alice contemplated continuing on her path to her sister, but she found herself turning around to face Jed. She was curious at how he looked, whether he was doing well or not, if he had been injured while fighting in Iraq. While she was hurt about what had taken place six years ago, her curiosity won out.

Curiosity was always something that had been Alice's downfall; it seemed she had taken on the main characteristic of the Disney character she shared a name with. Whether she was angry or crying, if there was something to be found out, she'd always let her thirst for knowledge win. She couldn't help it; often times, she wished she could turn the curiosity switch off, but it didn't work that way. When she started to wonder about something, even the smallest seed of thought, nothing would stop her from getting her answers.

And with Jed, it was the exact same case. She thought she'd be pissed and angry at him, instantly stomping away when faced with him. But instead, she found herself wondering as to how he had been the last six years. Did he still care about her? Had he been affected at all by their break-up? Would he be just as bitter as she was about everything? Had he found someone new to replace her? Questions began to fill her brain, and she tried to push them away. But she couldn't, so she had turned around to see him. As she turned, she realized he hadn't changed much.

He was still just as tall as he had been. The shaggy, golden blonde hair she had loved had been cropped off into a military style haircut, but she found it suited him better than his boyish haircut from high school. His sapphire eyes were just as bright and still had a twinkle of mischief in them. He was in excellent condition, and the lean muscles he had had from football were larger and more defined from training in boot camp. She instantly regretted her decision at wanting to see him because she had gone back into that shy mentality she had the first time she had met him.

"Yeah, you were doing a bang-up job," Jed replied, his tone one of sarcasm.

And just like that, Alice snapped out of whatever daze she had been. Beyond what she thought was best, she had given him the benefit of the doubt because she had been curious. But at his smartass response she instantly began to wonder 'What the hell was I thinking?' She was reminded of just how much heartbreak he had caused her, and just how long he had been gone for. She remembered all those long nights she sat up by the phone, waiting for him to call only to realize he wasn't going to. Only to cry herself to sleep and to repeat the process the next night. She had been a wreck when he left, and the year after his departure had been the most difficult one she had ever gone through. But, she had pulled herself together and built herself back up. And she'd be damned if she was going to let him come waltzing back into her life as if nothing had happened. She forgave easily, way too easily in some people's opinions, but she couldn't forgive him for what had happened.

"I didn't ask for your assistance," She snapped at him, her eyes narrowed. "So don't bother stepping in where you aren't needed."

"Are we still talking about the same thing?" He asked, his tone lowered and serious.

She set her jaw before twirling around and walking away from him. She wouldn't let him affect her anymore. She was leaving in a week to go back to college, and he was leaving soon to go back to the Marines. Even if she wanted to forgive him and go back to the old ways, it wouldn't work out. They had separate lives, and nothing would change that.

She made her way over to the bar where Athena was sitting at. Erica and Matt had joined her for a few moments before going to find their own place. But, there was still someone else sitting with Athena; one of Alice's best friends from high school, Toni Walsh. Despite not having seen Alice in three years, Toni still knew when something was bothering her friend. That's the kind of best friends they were; didn't see each other for three years, but could pick up exactly where they had left off when they did see the other.

"What's wrong, Ali?" Toni asked after hugging her in greeting.

"Nothing," Alice stated as she took a sip of her beer.

Toni glanced at Athena, as if the younger Mason would instantly know what was wrong with her sister. Though Athena knew what was wrong this time, that didn't mean she was a psychic or knew her sister that well. It was simply because the only thing that could put Alice in such a foul mood was walking over towards their table, beer in hand.

"I think she ran into Jed," Athena stated before motioning towards the male. Toni followed her gaze before smiling at him.

"Hey, Jed," She greeted when he stopped at the head of their table. "Toni," She supplied for him helpfully when he seemed confused on who she was. "Toni Walsh. Our-"

"-families used to go camping together, yeah," Jed said, finishing her sentence and remembering who she was then.

Despite having dated Alice and been around her friends, Jed couldn't remember her name. He knew he should have been able to because she had been someone he knew from before meeting Alice-before Alice and Athena had even moved into Spokane. But he couldn't. Until she helped him out. Then it all came flooding back. The Walshs and the Eckerts had been good family friends, always doing activities and events together, which included camping.

"You used to have to babysit us all," Toni stated teasingly. "You know, being the oldest..."

"I liked to think of it as being a scout leader," Jed said and Toni laughed.

"Or babysitting," She said, her tone implying that he shouldn't try to make watching after kids younger than himself cooler than it was.

"Or babysitting, yeah," Jed said, his tone giving in and agreeing that babysitting wasn't all that cool, even if he did try to spice it up a bit.

"You used to camp?" Alice asked, looking at Toni. Somehow she didn't see her best friend as being the wilderness type.

"It wasn't really my choice," Toni said. "It was like an annual thing our families did every year."

"Yeah, annual kind of implies every year," Athena stated and Toni made a face at the younger Mason causing Jed to laugh.

"Being a smart ass over there, huh, Little Goddess?" Jed asked playfully before reaching over to ruffle her hair. She made a sound of protest before jerking away from him and smoothing out her auburn curls. Athena glared at Jed which only made him laugh more. He felt more at ease now. Even if Alice was ignoring him at least everyone else wasn't. Well, Matt was, but that was a whole nother can of worms that the Marine did not want to open at the moment.

"God. I remember, your mom used to make us sing the most ridiculous songs," Toni stated before giving a quiet laugh at the memory. Then she noticed Jed's face fell a little, and she instantly regretted her words. "Shit. I'm sorry."

"No, nothing to be sorry about," Jed stated as he tried to play it off. He took a sip of his beer, but Toni shook her head, trying to backtrack.

"No. I am. I know it was hard on you guys," She said and mentally wanted to kick herself. That was just making it worse.

"So, how long you here for, Jed?" Athena asked, coming to the rescue of her sister's best friend.

"A few weeks," He said, glad to be off that subject.

"Then what?" Toni asked, relieved.

"Then it's off to wherever they wanna send me next," He explained before finishing the rest of his beer. "Well, I'm gonna head home, make sure I still have some place to sleep," He said before setting the empty beer bottle down. Athena and Toni wished him goodbye, but Alice stayed quiet, her gaze completely avoiding him.

A few moments after he had left, the electricity in the bar went completely out. Everyone glanced around, concerned and surprised, before excited shouts began to echo around. After the bar owners tried to get the place back up and running, but couldn't, they decided it was time to close down and send everyone home. Out in the parking lot, Alice realized that it wasn't just the bar that was blacked out, but the entire street they were on. The blackout was all across the city, and eventually they'd learn it was the entire north-west corner of the United States. After promising to hang out the next day and catch up on each others' lives, Alice and Toni parted ways.

On the way home, the two sisters laughed and joked some more, all thoughts of Jed completely gone from Alice's mind. She'd just avoid him her entire time back. Of course, she knew that'd be easier said than done, but a girl could try. After pulling into the driveway of her old home, she carried her luggage into the house with the help of Athena. Too lazy to carry it upstairs, the two dropped it in the living room before sitting on the couch to continue talking. But it was interrupted as the girls' father stepped into the room.

"I thought I heard you," Abram Mason said as he walked over to the girls and hugged Alice. "You should've let me know you were coming, we could've set up the guest room." At that, Athena cleared her throat, and Mr. Mason laughed. "Okay, Athena could've set up the guest room," He corrected before the family of three laughed at the small joke. Mr. Mason had never been good at putting sheets on a bed.

"It's fine, Dad. I wanted to surprise you guys," Alice told him smiling before hugging her father once again.

"Well, I'm glad you're home. We'll set up the guest room tomorrow," He told her, happy to have his eldest daughter back home for the time being.

"Going somewhere?" Alice asked as she stepped back and motioned to her father's police uniform that he wore now. He nodded his head.

"Yep. Gotta go keep everything under control in the city, make sure no one breaks into the stores and whatnot. Keep the crazies at bay," He explained.

Abram Mason worked at the Spokane Police Department and was the partner of Tom Eckert. The whole reason the family had moved from Tennessee to Washington was because of the police force. Abram had been offered a job in Spokane, and after much consideration, the family had made the long move. Shortly after arriving, that was when Layla Mason had passed away in a hit-and-run collision late at night. Often times, Abram would sit awake at night wondering if he had made the right decision in moving his family there; maybe if they had stayed in Tennessee Layla would still be alive. He blamed himself for her death for a long time, and it wasn't until Alice graduated high school that he finally came to terms with his wife's passing.

"Well, be careful," Alice stated. She knew how crazy people could get during a blackout.

As soon as the words had left her lips, there was a knock on the front door before it was pushed open and Tom Eckert, the father of Jed and Matt, stepped into the front room. He smiled at seeing Alice there before the blonde crossed the room and hugged the father-figure. Because of how much time Tom and Abram spent working together, Tom had come to view the Mason girls as his own daughters.

"I was told you were back in town," Mr. Eckert stated with a grin at the girl. "You're blonde; I like it. You look like your mother, Als."

Alice smiled at the compliment. "Thank you," She said sincerely.

"I'm sorry to say I'm going to have to steal your father away for the night, but I promise tomorrow he'll be all yours," Tom said and Alice smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you. And keep him safe," Alice said as she hugged her father before hugging Mr. Eckert once more.

"You two girls take care of yourselves now, and, Athena, watch out for your sister," He told the two who laughed.

"Yeah, tell the younger one to look out for the older one. Makes perfect sense," Athena stated before their father hugged them again.

"Be careful. I love you," He said before kissing the top of Alice's head. With that, the two men left in Tom's squad car.

"You hungry?" Alice asked. Athena nodded her head and followed her sister into the kitchen.

After making them a small dinner, the two girls had sat on the couch for several hours after just talking and catching up on the other's life. Alice found out that Athena had a crush on a boy a year older than her named Robert Morris. He ran the school's website and often interviewed different students around the school. He had interviewed Athena about following after her sister, since Alice had been a cheerleader before her. After that, the two had hung out several other times, and Athena had started crushing on him. Alice had been happy for her sister, glad she could find someone she felt comfortable around.

Finally, the two headed to sleep with Alice on the couch. She had been exhausted when first arriving into Spokane, but being at the football game and seeing familiar faces had gotten her excited. Getting back home, she had been tired, the trip from New York to Washington wearing on her. But now that she was trying to sleep, she found she couldn't. She kept thinking of Jed, and wondering if they could ever get past this blockade that had been built up for so many years. She didn't know if it was possible, and quite frankly... she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

With that final thought ringing in her head, she rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. As sleep began to take over, she told herself she'd figure it all out in time because she had plenty of that within the next few weeks she was here.


	3. Good Times Gone

With her classes being later in the day, Alice was used to sleeping in. Which was fantastic because she was certainly not a morning person. But being back home, she forgot that her little sister liked getting up early and wasn't very quiet when doing so. But as Athena tried to wake Alice up, Alice realized there was something different in her sister's voice. It sounded panicked and scared, not her usual playful tone she used when being annoying. Alice sat up, instantly worried and concerned. What could make Athena so scared?

"What is it, Thee?" Alice asked, rubbing the sleep out of eyes. She was instantly alert when all her little sister did was rush outside in answer. "Thee!" Alice shouted before tossing the blankets off of her and following her sister.

Outside, it looked like a warzone. Aircrafts were flying low over the houses in the neighborhood and men were parachuting out of them. They were dressed in dark green army uniforms, at least from this distance that's what it looked like. But why would the army be parachuting into Spokane? That didn't make any sense to her. While she tried to think of an explanation, a plane was shot out of the sky and spiralled towards the house next to the Masons. With the force of the explosion, Alice and Athena lost their balance. Both fell to the gtound before Alice instructed Athena to go inside and grab her cell phone. Athena did as she was requested before handing it over. Alice tried calling her father's number, but all she was met with was a 'no signal' sound. She flipped her phone shut in frustration before glancing around.

"What's going on?" Athena asked Alice.

Alice glanced around for a minute before shaking her head. "I don't know," She said quietly, though she had forced the quivering in her voice to cease. She couldn't be scared; Athena needed her to be strong and that's what she would be.

"What do we do?"

Just as Alice was about to answer her, a woman ran up to the two girls. She was panting and out of breath. "Please, can you help me!" The woman begged.

"What do you need?" Alice asked.

"My little boy, he ran off looking for his puppy when everything happened. I-I can't find him. Please help me!" The woman was shaking and on the verge of tears, and Alice instantly felt sympathetic towards her.

"Okay. Which way did he go?" Alice asked her, and the woman pointed in a direction. Alice nodded before turning to Athena. "Stay here. Don't move. I'll be right back."

As Alice went to follow the woman, Athena reached out and grabbed Alice's arm, stopping her. "Alice, please don't leave me," Athena pleaded. Her lower lip quivered, and Alice could tell she was trying her hardest not to cry.

"I'll be right back," Alice reassured her. She felt bad for leaving her sister, but the woman needed help. "Go inside and pack some clothes for us. I'll be back when you're done, okay?"

"Alice-"

"Thena, listen to me." Alice's voice was strong and firm. She wasn't being harsh with her tone, but she was making her sister calm down and take a deep breath. "We're gonna be fine. Now, go inside and get clothes. When I get back, we're gonna go look for dad, all right?"

Athena bit her lip before nodding her head, her green eyes filling up with tears. She didn't wanna cry because she didn't want to seem childish. She wanted to be able to be strong like Alice was. So she nodded her head once more. "O-Okay," She managed to get out.

"We're gonna be fine," Alice told her before kissing the top of her sister's head. "Now, go." With that, Alice pushed Athena towards the house gently before taking off down the street with the woman from before.

"His name's Benjy," The woman explained before she began to call for her son.

As the two raced down the street, it was becoming apparent Benjy had gotten a lot further than either thought he could. Once they reached the end of the street, Alice stopped to catch her breath. It was getting worse; the men who had parachuted before were landing in yards and the street. They had machine guns on them, and it was apparent to Alice that they weren't from the US Military. She didn't know who they were, but they were foreign, and this was an invasion. With that thought, her entire body went into panic mode. They were being invaded and she had left Athena alone. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have left her sister behind just to help out a stranger find her son? Alice instantly hated herself for making that decision.

"I can't go any further," Alice told the woman.

Before either could say anything else, a little boy ran up to them from behind a tree carrying a small puppy in his arms. He was probably the most adorable little boy Alice had seen with his large crystal blue eyes and messy blonde hair. He had round cheeks with dirt smudges and tear tracks from crying out of fear. Alice breathed a sigh of relief and felt better about leaving the woman now that she had found her son. The woman thanked Alice a thousand times as Alice turned to leave and head back down the street towards her house.

As she neared her house, she could see Athena being dragged down the front stairs by one of the foreign invaders. Instantly feeling protective, Alice grabbed the guy and pulled him away from her little sister. Being viewed as a threat, another invader grabbed Alice and threw her to the ground. Alice gasped as she felt the wind being knocked out of her. The throw had been much harder than she expected. It took a moment for her to gain her air back, but when she had, she jumped up and punched a guy beside her. A fight broke out with Alice trying to get to her sister who was being pulled away from her by one of the military men.

"Athena!" Alice shouted as she tried to fight the strong hold on her.

She could hear a voice in her ear, telling her they had to leave now. She recognized it, but it was faint because all she could care about was getting to Athena. And this person was pulling her in the opposite direction of her sister. She called for her sister again and watched as the tiny brunette struggled to get out of the hold that she was in. Athena was helpless against the two men that held her, and Alice was helpless to help her. Tears stung at her eyes as she watched a man try to come to Athena's aide, only to be shot in the head. Athena screamed in fear and all Alice wanted to do was hold her.

"Alice!" Athena screamed, her hands desperately trying to pry off the arms that held her down. "ALICE!" Her voice rose in pitch and sounded more desperate, and Alice's heart broke at hearing the scared tone in her sister's voice.

"Alice, we have to go!" The voice registered as Toni's and Alice stopped struggling for a moment against whoever held her. Danny Jackson, a friend of Matt's was the one pulling her away from Athena.

"I CAN'T! I HAVE TO GET ATHENA!" Alice pleaded, her voice breaking with the tears that fell down her cheeks before she started fighting all over again.

"Alice, we don't have the time! We can't!" Danny exclaimed sharply as he pulled the blonde towards a car. She was small, but she sure knew how to put up a fight, and it took all of Danny's strength to hold her back.

Athena managed to get out of the hold of one of the men and she started to race off towards Alice who instantly felt hope that maybe she could get to her. With that adrenaline, she broke free of Danny's arms and started after Athena. But Danny was quicker and raced after her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back just as Athena slid on the grass when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back. With Toni's help, Danny was able to get Alice in the truck and drove away.

"Athena!" Alice screamed through the window, even though she could do nothing anymore.

Toni allowed the blonde to cry into her shoulder and offered comfort for her. Alice felt like she had failed her sister; she had left her behind to help a complete stranger and now she was scared and alone. Neither of them knew where their father was. Alice felt terrible, and would only blame herself if Athena got hurt. How could she have left her? Alice was beating herself up inside and started crying harder. It was all her fault, and no one could tell her differently. Toni tried to be reassuring that they would get Athena, but Alice ignored her.

"How could you do that?" Alice snapped at Danny once her tears had turned to anger.

"We couldn't help her!" Danny defended himself. "She was caught! I was trying to get us out of there," He said, wincing at the harsh tone in the girl's voice.

"She was my sister!" Alice exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Ali," Danny said quietly before putting the car in park when they reached a blockade in the road.

Alice scrambled out the door at seeing her father and Tom Eckert trying to answer everyone's questions. Her father turned at hearing her call for him before she hugged him tightly, instantly feeling like a little girl who needed her father there to chase away all her fears. She knew it was stupid to feel that way, but she hadn't ever been prepared for an invasion from another country; she was scared and terrified and didn't know how to feel. She felt more tears in her eyes as he hugged her.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked, checking her over and noticing the scratches and bruises she had obtained from fighting earlier to get to Athena.

"I-I'm fi-fine," She stuttered out through the tears. "But Athena-"

"What about her?" Abram asked, instantly alert.

"They took her! I couldn't get to her in time!" Alice exclaimed, her voice rising in her panic as Tom walked over to them. He hugged Alice and breathed a sigh of relief that she was okay.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Danny asked as he got out of the truck and walked over to the two police officers.

"I've got a cabin up in the mountains. Jed and Matt should be there. Go there, Alice knows the way," Tom told Danny. But Alice shook her head.

"No. No way. I'm not leaving you," Alice exclaimed. "And Athena-"

"We'll get Athena and we'll bring her to you," Abram reassured his eldest daughter.

Alice instantly felt tears in her eyes, but she bit her lip to stop from crying. She nodded her head at her father's request, trying to be the strong girl everyone said she was. Alice closed her eyes for a moment, trying to force back the tears. But when she opened them, the urge to cry was stronger than it had been. But she didn't want to argue with her father. So she nodded her head again, and tried to take a breath, but it was shaky and didn't help matters. Before she could help herself, she hugged her father once more.

"Okay," She said, her voice quivering.

"I love you; be strong, you can do this," Abram told her before kissing her forehead. "Help Jed out and do what he says."

She nodded again. "Yes sir," She said before hugging him once more. "I love you, daddy," She whispered as she closed her eyes and felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"I love you, too," Abram said before pulling back as vehicles were heard up ahead. "Now go!" He exclaimed and Toni, Alice and Danny all jumped back into the truck and took off.

On the way towards the cabin, Alice would give an occasional direction, but mostly it was a quiet ride. After leaving her father, she had a knot in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away. It was one of those horrible feelings you get when something terrible is going to happen soon. And she had a feeling that that would be the last time she spoke to her father. She wanted to be strong, like everyone always said she was, but right now she was falling apart. It was taking everything in her to not burst into tears. The only hope she had was that Athena would already be at the cabin with Jed and Matt-that she had somehow found her way there. She knew it was a long shot, but she could only hope.

It was dark by the time the truck they were driving pulled up the driveway that led towards the cabin. Danny slowed down, not wanting to spook those already up there. With everything going on, everyone was jumpy and wouldn't hesitate to attack. He didn't want to get hurt in an accident, so he was being as careful as he could be. Toni and Alice jumped a little when Jed hopped out of the treeline with a gun in his hands, but he wasn't aiming it at them. He had realized who they were. He held up a hand to Danny, signalling for him to go slower. But just as he did that, a bullet went whizzing past his head and hit the front bumper of the truck.

Both girls shrieked and ducked as Jed turned and rushed off towards the group that had gathered in front of the cabin. Most were familiar faces to Alice, but some were not. He was letting the group know the truck wasn't dangerous. Danny stopped the truck and all three occupants got out of it to greet the group.

"No!" Jed shouted. "What did I tell you to do? I told you to wait inside!" He snapped at Matt who had a gun in his hand, but Matt shook his head.

"It wasn't me!" He defended himself.

"You almost took my head off," He said, his eyes narrowed.

"We thought they had gotten past you," A boy who Alice didn't recognize spoke up.

"Give me the gun," Jed stated as he handed his gun to Matt before walking over to the boy, but he shook his head.

"No way. I'm not giving you dick," Came the fierce reply.

Jed held his hands up in surrender. "Let's compromise," He said before quickly reaching forward and grasping the gun in his hand. He pulled the boy towards him, then pushed backwards. The boy let go of the gun as he lost his balance.

Jed turned around, having done what he wanted to do, but the boy stood up, instantly pissed off. Alice could tell he didn't like being told what to do or having someone else in a higher position of authority than him. And he certainly didn't like being humiliated like that so quickly. He hadn't even had a chance to fight back, that's probably what angered him the most. Jed turned back around to face the boy, his arms out in a 'come get it' motion.

"What?" Jed asked, his tone exasperated. When the boy made a move towards him, Jed narrowed his eyes. "More?" He questioned, sarcasm in his voice.

He was not against teaching him another lesson. But instead, the boy glared before going inside, realizing it was a lost cause to fight a Marine. He shook his head at him before turning to see who all had come in the truck. At seeing Alice, he averted his gaze. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her tonight. Matt stepped forward towards the group to greet them, all of them being people he knew and were close with. He was glad that some of his friends had made it out of alive and were with them.

"Danny," Matt said, smiling as he hugged his friend. As he stepped towards Toni and hugged her, the girl smiled weakly.

"Is Erica here?" She asked. And Matt looked down.

"No... I think they took her," He said quietly and Toni nodded her head, trying not to cry.

"Jed?" While he had been looking down, Alice had made her way over to him. He glanced up, surprised to see her talking with him. But as he studied her, he could tell she had been crying. "Is... Is Thee here with you?" She asked.

Jed glanced down before shaking his head. "No." Was the simple reply. He watched as her face fell before taking a deep breath and motioning towards the house. "All right, everybody inside," He instructed. And everyone did as he requested.

That night they ate a small snack before everyone curled up in the living room to sleep. No one wanted to sleep by themselves at this point. They had all lost everything, and no one wanted to be alone. Even if they didn't know each other very well, any human contact was better than nothing. But Alice hadn't been able to sleep so instead she had made her way outside to sit on the porch stairs of the cabin. Being around people when she was trying not to cry always made fighting the urge harder. Especially when everyone was trying to be nice and sympathetic. She didn't want to cry so she needed to be alone.

She sniffled as she looked up at the stars above. Everything in the night sky seemed so peaceful, it seemed hard to imagine that an invasion of any kind had just taken place. But the fact that Athena wasn't with her made it very easy to remember. She ran a hand through her hair which felt dry and dirty, and it had only been one day. With the dirt smudges on her cheeks, her eyes red and puffy from crying, the scratches and bruises from fighting and her hair stringy and dirty, she was sure she looked a wrecked. But she didn't care.

She heard the door opening behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Jed standing there. He stood there awkwardly before scratching the back of his neck. He looked like he wanted to say something comforting, but that had never been his strong point. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk with him or just go inside. She was too exhausted to fight with him, but that didn't mean everything that had happened wasn't real and didn't still hurt. She closed her eyes for a moment before looking back out towards the trees that surrounded the cabin. If he wanted to stay outside with her, he could. It'd be his decision, not hers on how this interaction happened.


	4. Trespassing

"You shouldn't be out here," Jed stated after a moment of silence had fallen over the two.

This was awkward for him, Alice could tell. Trying to make small talk and keep things civil, it was all awkward-for both of them. Neither of them had ever been the silent-try-to-keep-the-peace type of people so whenever an argument had broken out between them it got loud and it never ended pretty. For them to be trying to keep the conversation quiet and civil was weird for both. But at the current moment, both were too exhausted to fight. All Alice could think about was her sister, and she was worried for her.

"I needed to think," Alice said quietly not bothering to look at him.

"It's not safe; you shouldn't be by yourself," Jed corrected himself, still standing behind her.

"I'm not out here alone," She stated, finally glancing up at him. "Thanks for fixing that for me."

Jed rolled his eyes as he sighed. She was always difficult, and always finding an excuse for why what she was doing was okay. She would very rarely ever admit she was wrong, and even when she did, nothing was ever fully her fault. She hated being wrong, and Jed had had to learn that he could never win against her in an argument. But that's what made her such a strong person; she always was determined and fought for what she believed in. She didn't give up; all good qualities... she just took them to the extreme.

"You should get some sleep," He finally said, deciding it wouldn't help to argue with her. So he changed the subject.

"I'm not tired. And even if I was, I wouldn't be able to sleep... too much has happened," She told him. He nodded his head in understanding.

"Rest will help; we're all exhausted. We all need some sleep."

"I can't-" She cut her sentence off when her voice broke at the thought of her sister. For the hundredth time, it seemed that day, Alice found herself forcing herself not to cry. "I can't... not with knowing Athena could be hurt."

"Look, whatever happened, it wasn't your fault," Jed told her as he sat down beside her, trying to offer comfort to her.

"You don't know that!" Alice snapped at him. Pity and sympathy was not what she wanted at the moment. She was angry with herself, and she expected everyone else to be. "I left her, Jed! How could I have done that? How could I have chosen a complete stranger over my baby sister?!"

Jed watched as her crystal blue eyes began to fill up with tears. Despite being so hard-headed and confrontational, Alice had a vulnerable quality about her that made everyone around her want to protect her, want to chase away her fears and make everything alright. And watching the blonde beauty breakdown and blame herself for something that ultimately wasn't her blame to take hurt Jed more than he thought it would. He hated seeing her upset, and he knew he cared for her more than he let on. But he was just as hard-headed as she was, and he wasn't ready to admit to her that he was apologetic for their breakup. He also hated to admit he was in the wrong. But just maybe with the invasion looming over their heads, they'd both find a peaceful compromise in all of this.

"Athena's safe," Jed told her. "You know she's strong; you know she can make it through anything. She's like you in that regard." He offered a half smile, hoping to put her a little more at ease. And she returned it with a small one of her own. "But worrying yourself sick over her isn't going to do her or you any good. You need to be at your best in order to help her if the need arises."

Alice nodded her head, knowing he was right. "I know," She said before taking a deep breath and standing up. She paused at the door and looked like she was going to say something. But what she said wasn't what she had wanted to say. "Good night."

Jed waited until he heard the sound of the door closing behind her before he held his head in his hands. What was he doing? He wasn't a leader; hell, he wasn't even a highly ranked soldier. All of this was way above his pay grade. He was part of the team that invaded other countries; America wasn't supposed to be invaded by someone else. And being the only one with military training, everyone automatically looked to him for answers; they looked to him for explanation and for help. And he couldn't offer anything to them. Feeling more frustrated now than he had when he first came out, he stood up. He kicked at the ground once before heading back inside, though not to sleep. He would stay up and keep watch, just in case the enemy came looking for them.

* * *

Voices drifted to Alice, slowly stirring her from her sleep. Had the voices not belonged to Matt and Jed, she probably would've continued sleeping. Despite telling the blonde Marine she wasn't tired last night, the moment she had left him on the porch and stepped inside she had curled up on the couch beside Toni and fallen asleep. Matt asked his brother what was wrong and the lack of response caused Alice to sit up straighter, instantly alert. Her blue eyes fell onto Jed as his shoulders sagged with the sigh that left his lips. He had a calculating look in his eyes, like he was trying to figure out what he wanted everyone to do-what they needed to do.

"Jed?" Aliced pried softly. His azure hues flickered over to her at her voice before glancing around at everyone else.

"That asshole, Pete, and his buddy took off with all the food," He explained finally to the teenagers who were slowly waking up with the three voices talking around them. "I need you guys to take anything we can use, put it in the truck and hide it in the woods," He ordered.

A few of the teens groaned a little at having to wake up so early, especially after everything they had been through the day previous. They were all exhausted and just wanted to rest. But they couldn't do that. They had to prepare themselves and get ready to take action if the need arose, and Jed was there to make sure they didn't slack off.

"You sound like you're taking off," Toni commented as she sat up and stretched, her arms above her head, before glancing at the male who hadn't spoken at her statement.

"Jed?" Alice questioned at his lack of an answer. She knew that meant he was going out, but she was hoping he would tell her he wasn't.

"Yeah, I'm gonna take Mattie and do a little scouting," He said as he avoided the azure hues of a certain blonde and instead turned to focus his attention on Toni. "See what we can learn, maybe we'll find something of use."

"Be careful," Toni told him, and the blonde male nodded his head once before nudging his brother who was still in the exact same spot on the floor where he had slept last night.

"Mattie, come with me," He instructed.

The dark head of of his little brother nodded as a grunt left his lips before he moved aside the blankets from last night and stood up. He stretched as well before clasping his hand around the rifle Jed handed him and swinging the strap over his shoulder. Alice watched the Marine who seemed intent on avoiding the gaze he could feel on him. She wondered if he was going to acknowledge her at some point before he left, but by the way his shoulders were tensed and his eyes narrowed to focus on the specks of dirt on the wooden floor?-she didn't think he would.

"What do we grab?" Julie asked quietly as she gazed up at the man who they had all silently agreed was their leader. It just made sense, he was the oldest and the one with actual training for situations like this.

"Blankets, food, ammo-anything you think can be of use," He said before glancing at Robert and Daryl who were still sitting on the floor. "Let's go; get up."

They glanced up at Jed, took in his serious expression before realizing they needed to listen to him; neither one wanted to see him pissed off. The two quickly scrambled onto their feet and began to dart around the room, collecting whatever they could. Jed watched them for a moment before turning and heading towards the door, Matt beside him. Alice bent down to fold up a blanket before a thought occurred to her. She straightened up and called out Jed's name, causing the blonde male to stop before glancing over his shoulder at her.

"What?" He asked.

"We need the keys to your truck if we're going to move it," She said as she crossed the room to stand in front of the tall male.

Jed's lips pursed before he slipped his hand into his jean pocket and produced the keychain a moment later. He hesitated a second before placing the keys gently into her open palm, his hand lingering on hers for a moment longer than necessary. Alice broke the contact and slid the keys into her pocket, her blue orbs glancing downwards at the ground as she tucked a rogue curl behind her ear. She inhaled deeply, composing herself before turning her gaze back up to meet his azure hues.

"Be careful," She told him with a half smile. "We need you here."

Jed nodded at her words and paused, like he was debating something. "You too," He told her quietly. "That prick knows where we are so keep your eyes open." He reached behind his back and held out the handgun he had taken off of Pete the night before. She glanced at it for a moment before taking it from him and slipping it in the waistband of her jeans behind her back. Then with that, he was gone and she was left staring at the vacant spot he had previously occupied.

It took Alice several seconds to snap out of whatever daze she had been in and tear her gaze away from the door Jed had just exited through. She turned towards the others in the room and began to instruct them on what to get and how to pack it to save space. She was used to packing and had become quite an expert on it with moving from Tennessee to Washington then from Washington to New York for college. Packing seemed like such a tedious task, but was a very important one that needed to be done.

"Hey, Bobby, take Daryl and Danny and go check through the small trailer outside. See if there's anything you can find in there? Like Jed said, look for blankets, ammo, food... anything you think we could possibly use. Okay?"

The three boys nodded their head to Alice before exiting the cabin and heading out to do what she said. While they scoured through the trailer, her and the others stayed in the cabin and searched through rooms and cupboards for supplies. It didn't take long for the two groups to fill the bed of Jed's truck with different necessities. Alice handed the keys over to Toni. The redhead looking at the keychain she held in her hands before glancing up at Alice, confused as to why the blonde wasn't driving the truck.

"I'm gonna stay back, do one more sweep of the house and see if there's anything we might've missed that could be useful." As she spoke she moved around to the back of the truck and grabbed a backpack out. She turned back to the group. "Someone wanna stay back with me? It'll go faster with two."

To Alice's surprise, Julie raised her hand. "I'll stay," She volunteered.

Alice nodded her head, still taken aback by her forwardness. The curly haired brunette seemed glued to her brother's side since Pete had brought them up here, and rightfully so. They had watched their father be shot; life-and-death situations drew families closer together. She hadn't expected Julie to offer her services, but when she did she fully expected her brother to make an attempt at talking her out of it-which he did. But she didn't listen. After a small sibling argument ensued, Greg finally realized Julie was going to stay regardless of what he said. So he stopped all attempts at getting her to stay with him.

"We'll stay here, do one quick walk through. We'll be finished in ten minutes tops," She informed the group.

Toni nodded her head before getting into the driver side of the truck and waited for Daryl and Danny to get in through the passenger side. Once Robert and Greg had hopped into the bed of the truck, she started up the ignition and drove away. Alice waited for a few moments, wanting to make sure the truck was still able to be driven before she led the way back into the cabin, Julie closely behind her. For the first few minutes, both girls were silent as they searched through separate parts of the same room. Finally, Alice glanced over her shoulder at Julie before speaking.

"So, where are you and your brother from?" Alice asked, trying to make small talk.

"San Diego," Julie replied politely.

"So what were you doing in Spokane?" The blonde glanced at the younger girl with a smile as she opened up a drawer only to find it already searched through and nothing of value there. She closed it with a sigh before turning to face Julie.

"We were just stopping through... on our way to Canada," Julie told her. "We were taking a family vacation. We always went somewhere out of the country," She added with a light laugh after the words. "My dad would take out a globe, spin it around and point his finger. Wherever it landed, we attempted to go-at least someplace close."

"And Canada was picked?" Alice asked, smiling.

"Canada was picked," Julie confirmed as she followed after the blonde who had moved down the hall into one of the bedrooms.

"So, who's older? You or Greg?"

"He is. By two minutes," Julie answered before laughing. "And he never lets me forget it either."

"Twins?" Alice asked, a little surprised by that answer as well as she glanced back at the girl. "Check under the bed, sometimes Jed's dad hid guns there."

Julie nodded as she knelt down to look. "Yeah, twins," She said, smiling and Alice could tell she was loosening up a bit.

"I have a little sister, Athena. She's six years younger than me. Being older is kinda important to siblings, makes you feel like you've got power," Alice explained to her as she stood on her tiptoes to search through the top shelf of the closet. "So, what grade are you two in?"

"We're Juniors," Julie told her. "Senior year's coming up... Greg wants to be a mechanic or go to school for engineering. Me? I wanna be an actress."

Alice smiled at her once she was flat-footed again. "I bet you'll make it in Hollywood."

"Where's your sister?"

"She-we were separated," Alice said quietly, her gaze immediately going towards the floor. Julie took that as her cue to change the subject, but Alice continued, her eyes still glued to the wood below her feet. "I'm gonna get her back, and everything's going to be okay again. My dad, Jed's dad... they'll be here soon. And they'll know what to do. We'll make it out of this."

The last part was directed as words of encouragement to Julie as well. It didn't take a psychic to figure out exactly how the younger teens were feeling. It was hard not to feel like all hope was lost and they'd eventually end up dying. But Alice knew better, she had been raised to believe failure wasn't an option. She trusted her father and Tom to make it through-just like they always did-to come up with a plan of action and make everything all right. Because that's what fathers did, right? They chased away their kids fears, protected them and made everything okay. She had to believe there was a way out of this because if not... She shook her head, not allowing herself to dwell on thoughts. Everything would be okay.

The two talked some more with the girls getting closer, and Alice beginning to feel a little protective of the girl who was only a year older than her little sister. By the time they reached the kitchen, all they managed to find was some flashlights, a few batteries to go along with them, a pair of binoculars and a hunting knife. Alice dropped each one into the backpack she had brought with her before opening up a cupboard, only to freeze at the sound of a vehicle approaching the cabin-a large vehicle.

"What's that?" Julie asked, panic entering her voice.

Alice didn't answer, instead she quietly closed the cupboard and tiptoed over towards the window in the front room. Julie followed a short distance, but stayed put in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. She watched as Alice placed her back against the wall before slowly moving aside one of the lace curtains hanging over the window. The blonde cursed as she let it fall back into place before she quickly made her way over to Julie. Before she could explain what she had seen, loud voices from outside reached their ears-foreign voices. Julie's brown eyes went wide as she realized the cabin had been discovered. She started to speak, but Alice clamped a hand down over her mouth before hurried words could leave her lips. The blonde shook her head before slowly removing her hand. Julie stayed quiet, but her eyes were still large.

"We're going out the back," Alice instructed as she grabbed the girl's hand in her own.

She glanced over her shoulder at the door before pulling Julie after her towards a room down the hall. It was the master bedroom of the cabin and a large, sliding glass door had been built into it. Quietly as she could, she pushed the door open before popping her head out to look around. It all seemed clear-for the moment at least. She stepped outside before motioning Julie after her. Once the brown haired girl was beside her, she closed the door once more. She turned around to face the forest before her. She couldn't see any foreign invaders, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Alice took a deep breath before glancing at Julie.

"We're gonna make a run for it. Straight into the trees. We'll double back around in a large circle, so we can avoid being spotted, okay?" Julie nodded her head to the instructions Alice gave her, but the blonde could definitely tell she was terrified. So was Alice.

"You sure about this?" Julie asked.

"Yeah," Alice stated, though inside she wasn't sure of anything. "On the count of three. One, two, three!"

As soon as the last word left her lips, she took off towards the trees ahead of her. Alice only stopped to catch her breath once she was sure they were far enough away. She allowed Julie to rest for a few minutes while she calculated their next plan. Hopefully they'd run into the others with Jed and Matt soon. But she couldn't count on luck being on her side, it hadn't been so far. Once she was sure Julie had rested for long enough, the two began to walk at a brisk pace through the trees. Alice froze and held her arm out for Julie to stop as well when twigs snapping underneath someone's foot could be heard.

The blonde pulled out the gun Jed had given her and turned in the direction of the sound, the Glock aimed straight ahead and readied to be fired. She relaxed immensely when she realized it was Jed standing in front of her, arms raised up in a peaceful gesture. Alice closed her eyes to steady the rapidly beating heart in her chest. When she reopened them she could see the entire group standing behind him. Greg raced forward and hugged his sister, relieved to see she was okay. The blonde turned away from the family reunion to look at the Marine before her.

"They found the cabin-"

"I know," Jed informed her. "They told us." He motioned with his head towards Danny. "Come on, we need to find out what they're going to do with the place."

"We're gonna stake out the place," Robert said as he and Daryl exchanged a grin. It was like something straight out of a video game they had played.

"Oh, and next time you intend to shoot at something, you might wanna make sure the safety's off," Jed stated as he passed by Alice, a smirk on his lips.

The blonde whirled around to face him and glared at the back of his head. She glanced down at the gun in her hand only to realize the safety had been on. Stupid, she told herself. She knew how to fire a gun, her father had taught her. She rolled her eyes as she tried to let Jed's comment go over smoothly, but to no avail. With her blood boiling, the girl moved quickly to catch up with him.

"I know how to shoot a gun," She stated in a dark voice, as if she felt the need to prove herself to Jed-which she didn't.

"Yeah, the safety on was going to do a lot of damage," Jed commented cockily.

Alice stopped in her tracks and glared at the man as he continued to move. Even after all those years, he still knew how to get under her skin like no other. She pursed her lips as she slid the gun back behind her back before she continued walking with the rest of the group. They walked quite a distance away from the cabin, but Alice could still see the Koreans clearly through the leaves. They were milling around the house, trying to find something inside the cabin-obviously they were expecting the teens to still be inside.

Jed led them towards an area that was completely covered in brush before he instructed everyone to kneel down and stay low. As everyone did as he requested, Alice pulled out a pair of binoculars before handing them off to Matt who began to use them to get a closer look. Jed laid down on his stomach with his rifle ready before taking a look through the scope. He gritted his teeth at what he saw.

"Son of a bitch, it's Pete."

"He sold us out?" Alice asked, surprise entering her voice. "Because you took away his gun?" She scoffed at how childish it was, like a sibling feud. Except, instead of telling mother about it and having the other sibling sit in time out, someone could have seriously been injured because of Pete's selfish antics. She couldn't believe he was honestly going to the enemy all because of last night's small scuffle.

"Looks like," Jed said, an annoyed tone in his voice.

"Shit... Daryl, that's your dad," Matt said quietly after he had taken another look through the binoculars. Mayor Jenkins had just been brought out of one of the vehicles. While she didn't have a close up view of what was happening, Alice could still see the soldiers and other people pretty clearly.

"What? Lemme see!" He reached for the binoculars Matt was holding, but the younger Eckert wasn't quite ready to give them up. "Lemme-!"

"Shh, quiet!" Jed shushed the two boys. Matt finally handed over the binoculars to keep Daryl quiet, but not before he watched the Koreans pull out another citizen of Spokane, one Matt and Jed knew and one Alice loved just as much as the brothers.

"Jesus Christ." Matt's voice took on a scared, panicked tone as he felt tears prick his eyes. Alice gasped, a hand flying up to cover her mouth.

Standing just behind Daryl's father, with his hand held tightly over his side where a red stain could be seen, was Tom Eckert.


	5. A Hero's Sacrifice

Seeing Tom standing there with a red stain on his side from an injury immediately made Alice think of her own father. Was he okay? Was he already gone? Was he lying somewhere hurt and dying? So many thoughts flashed through her mind, but she wasn't given the time to dwell properly on each one. Just like a knife, Mayor Jenkins' voice cut through her thoughts and brought her attention onto him. He was calling for them, making sure they were all listening to what he had to say.

Without thinking, Alice found herself moving closer to Jed. Being next to him helped her find a sense of security. Upon hearing the movement, Jed glanced in her direction. Their eyes met, and Jed could see the fear and uncertainty there. He gave her a reassuring nod before his gaze went back onto the scene before them. That small acknowledgement from him made her feel better, like everything would all right. Because he said it would be. She released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding before turning her own eyes onto Mayor Jenkins. But her gaze kept darting towards Tom, making sure he was all right. She was certain the Eckert boys were doing the same.

"Captain Cho is the acting prefect of this district," Mayor Jenkins explained. "Now, he says you seriously injured some of his men. And he's given me his word that if you turn yourselves in no one's going to be hurt. Kay?" There came no response, no movement from the teens hiding in the brush so he persisted. "Boys?"

He couldn't honestly think they were going to turn themselves in just because he asked them to? Even with him promising they wouldn't be hurt, they wouldn't be injured, there wouldn't be consequences, not a single one of them trusted him. Not a single one of them trusted Captain Cho-as Jenkins had introduced him as. They weren't stupid enough to believe they wouldn't be punished for what they had caused. For Christ's sake, Tom was injured and he had only helped the teenagers escape. They weren't foolish enough to believe that by running away, disabling vehicles and injuring men wouldn't result in the same punishment-or worse.

Mayor Jenkins seemed to sense the hesitancy among the teens, so he tried a different approach. "Daryl? Son, I'd like you to come home."

Maybe if he spoke directly to his son, Daryl would make the right choice. Maybe Daryl would come forward because his father asked him to. And Daryl seemed to be buying it. He sat up a little straighter, his hands loosening around the binoculars. Matt took that opportunity and plucked them from his hands to allow himself a closer look. Daryl glanced at Robert beside him then at Jed who simply stayed in his position, his Remington rifle aimed at the Koreans and ready to be fired. Alice glanced down the line of males beside her, her gaze falling on Daryl. His eyes locked onto hers before he spoke.

"Guys, shouldn't we do what he says?" He asked as he looked back at Jed who made no move to look at him or answer. When the oldest Eckert was no help, Daryl turned to Matt, hoping for something.

"What do we do, Jed?" Matt asked.

"We don't move," Came the simple answer.

"But if my dad trusts these guys shouldn't-"

"Daryl, shut up," Jed hissed quietly. "Everybody stay still," He added in an attempt to keep everyone calm.

Mayor Jenkins realized that if he couldn't get through to his own son he certainly wasn't going to be able to get through to the Eckert boys, and it was plainly obvious Jed would be the one in charge of the group. He glanced back at Tom Eckert before handing the megaphone over. He had always had a much better way of rallying people together and getting them to do as he needed. Maybe he'd have the same luck with the kids.

Tom took the megaphone, but paused. The device weighed heavy in his hands as he thought over what he was going to say. He knew what he wanted to say, what he would do. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask that of his children; he wasn't sure if he could. It was a hard thing to ask, and he knew the consequences would be severe-for himself and his two sons. And he didn't want to put them in danger. But they were already in danger now and nothing would fix that. He had to ask it because it was better than the alternative.

With his mind made up, he lifted the megaphone to his lips. "Boys-if you're out there, if you can hear me-listen up. It's a tough situation all the way around. Lot of tough choices." He paused to take a breath, the pain in his side overwhelming him for a moment. "I love you both. I hope you know that."

His voice cracked on the last syllable, and Alice felt tears springing into her eyes. She didn't know what Tom was going to ask or say, but she knew it was hard for him to do so. She could hear the emotional turmoil in his voice. She held a hand over her mouth, trying her hardest to keep herself quiet as the tears spilled over her cheeks. Tom was someone who she considered a second father; he had always been there for her and Athena whenever they needed help with anything. When her father had late nights at work, he always stopped by to make sure they were okay-granted he wasn't working with Abram. She felt helpless to do anything. She could see Jed clenching onto the log before them, his grip grounding him and forcing him to stay put.

"What I'm gonna ask you to do may be very difficult, but I want you boys to do what I would do," He said, and his voice still shook. He pointed a finger back at Cho. "I want you to go to war and stop this piece of shit-or die trying."

Tom's voice cracked on the end, like the severity of his words and actions finally became realized. He realized what he had asked of his children, and he wished there was any way for him to protect them from the hurt and chaos they were going to experience. No father would want to put their kids in danger, but that's exactly what he was asking of them, and he hated it. Jed's grip slowly released the crumpled up leaves, the wind carrying away the little pieces. He sat up a little straighter, and for a second Alice thought he was going to do something. But then he didn't move, only tensed beside her. In that instant, Alice knew what was going to happen. It's like her brain knew, but she wasn't able to fully process it.

It all happened in slow motion; Cho reached for the gun at his side and brought it up, with the barrel pointed at Tom's head. An explosion echoed throughout the woods as the gun fired, Alice shrieked quietly in surprise at the loud noise. Mayor Jenkins cried out the fallen officer's name, and Jed jumped into action the moment Mattie tried to run to his father. He grabbed his little brother around the shoulders and pulled him back down onto the ground. Matt struggled against his brother's hold, but it was useless. Jed was too strong, and Matt was too emotional to think of any way out.

The tears blurred Alice's vision, but she didn't care. She didn't want to see anymore, didn't want to feel anymore. Hearing Jed try to comfort his brother over their father's death and Matt fighting so hard against it, his screams being muffled by his brother's hand... it was all too much for her, and she had to cover her ears from the heart wrenching noises beside her. She shook her head, willing for everything to go away, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare. But no ending came. She stared at the ground, her eyes clenched shut tight as she tried to make some sense of the situation, but there was nothing to make sense of. Her lips were parted, but no sound came out... only silent sobs for the male she had considered a father.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Alice could faintly hear Jed saying soothing phrases to his brother in an attempt to keep the teen from fighting back.

Eventually Matt gave up his struggles and fell limp in his brother's arm as he cried. Even with Matt's cease in movement, Jed didn't let up on his grip. To those around him, it would appear as if he simply didn't trust Matthew. But it was more than that. Jed needed his brother more than he had ever needed him. Jed was hurting too, and his grip on his brother seemed to be the only thing keeping him grounded right now. He wanted to cry like his brother, let the pain overcome him, but he couldn't. Because he was a leader now and everyone depended upon to be strong, to keep them strong and keep them moving.

Alice felt someone place a hand near the top of her back before rubbing small circles in a soothing manner. Toni was sitting beside her, her own eyes red and puffy from crying, but yet trying to offer the comfort a best friend could. Alice immediately leaned into the auburn haired girl's embrace, feeling a fresh wave of tears come over her. None of this was fair! None of them had done anything to deserve what was happening to them, to their families. It just wasn't fair. She kept waiting for the moment when she'd wake up from the nightmare, but it still hadn't come. The longer she waited, the more she realized this was reality and there was no waking up.

_"Mattie, no!"_

Out of the corner of her eyes, Alice caught a blur as someone sprinted into action. She turned towards the motion to see Matt running through the trees towards where his father lay motionless. It was then she realized the Koreans were gone and they had set fire to the cabin, making sure the small group of misfits had no shelter. Matt ignored his brother's calls for him to stop and knelt down beside his father when he reached him. When nothing happened after a moment, Jed stood up cautiously before stepping out from their hiding spot and moving towards his brother. Taking that as the cue it was safe, everyone else began to follow suit. Alice leaned upon Toni as they walked because she didn't trust her own legs to carry her the distance without collapsing.

As they neared Tom Eckert's lifeless body, it all became real again and more tears fell down Alice's cheeks. She gasped, a hand flying up in an attempt to muffle the sounds, but it was of no use. She broke free of Toni's support and fell to her knees on the other side of Tom. His blue eyes stared up into her own, cold and lifeless and she had to close her own in order to find the air to breathe. Matt moved aside some of his father's blonde hair, his actions so delicate and shaky. She opened her mouth to speak, but found no words of comfort could come out to the young boy. Apologizing for the situation didn't seem to do it justice and it certainly wouldn't take the pain away, so instead she said nothing.

"What'd we do, Jed?" Matt asked as he glanced up towards his older brother.

Though he was eighteen years old, in that moment he seemed far too broken and young. It was as if Alice saw a little boy needing guidance and reassurance because he was unsure of what to do anymore. He was vulnerable and scared and he just needed his older brother-one who he never thought had been there for him before.

"I don't know," Jed said quietly, trying to fight all emotions back.

"We can't just leave him here," Matt said, his voice rising in his panic as he fought to control his own voice. "Can we... What do we do?"

"I don't know," Jed repeated, refusing to look down at his father because it would all be real and he couldn't face that reality just yet. He needed to be alone in order to come to terms with what had happened.

"We can't just leave him here!" Matt snapped.

"What are we supposed to do?" Jed asked, his tone tired and weary. His thoughts were all jumbled and he couldn't think properly. He couldn't process anything right now and that was bad.

"We can bury him," Toni said, speaking up and being the voice of reason that the group needed for the moment. "We can bury him."

The words were repeated but it wasn't just a suggestion anymore. She was speaking it into action and letting everyone know that's what they were going to do. Because Tom Eckert didn't deserve to sit and rot in some field, he deserved a proper burial-especially after the sacrifice he had made.

After a moment, Matt nodded before he glanced up at his brother for approval. "Jed?"

"With what, Mattie? We've got no shovels and no time. Those Koreans could be back any minute. We can't stay here," Jed said.

"But we can't just leave him here!" Matt exclaimed, his voice breaking on the end as he gazed down at his father.

Jed was silent for a few moments though it felt like an eternity to those around watching him, waiting for him to tell them what they were going to do. Matt was right, they couldn't just leave their father's body here. He deserved so much more than that. He had given his life to ensure his boys would live to see another day, and Jed had seriously considered walking away and leaving the body for the birds and animals of the forest. The Marine clenched his eyes shut as he tried to shut out any emotions that were contradicting with what decision he needed to make. Leaders didn't make tough choices based on emotions and feelings, they did what they had to do and didn't second guess themselves. But Jed wasn't a leader, he was human.

Finally, he opened his eyes. "I think there's a shovel in the back of my truck," he said. "Darryl, take Matt and go grab it. But be quick and be careful. Those guys could still be out there."

Matt nodded his head in understanding before dashing off through the woods with the other boy following closely behind. Jed sighed as he glanced down towards his father's lifeless body, unknowing of what to do. Tears stung at his eyes but he willed them away angrily. These kids needed him, and he would be there for them. No one would see his heartache, because they couldn't see that weakness, not when they were broken themselves. He would be strong for everyone who depended on him-even if it broke him in the process.

"Jed."

At the sound of his name, he glanced to his right. Alice was standing there, her gaze focused entirely on the male before her. She knew she was hurting, but he had to be breaking. And yet, he stood there solemnly and pushed all emotions down. She took a step towards him, to comfort him, but he simply turned away. Alice knew him better than anyone, and she knew he was a wreck inside. But he couldn't be strong if she tried to take care of him.

She froze in her tracks at his rejection, a hurt look passing over her features. But he ignored it. He couldn't worry about her, or even himself right now. He had to worry about everyone else, and her pity would simply make it impossible. But before either could speak, Matt and Darryl broke through the treeline with the shovel in hand. Jed was thankful for the distraction from Alice-though it brought on a fresh wave of pain. Though Jed would take it head on and make it through.

"Where are we going?" Toni asked the oldest Eckert boy, but it wasn't him who answered. Matt did.

"There's a little hill a walk away. Dad liked that spot."

Jed smiled in approval at his brother's leadership. "Yeah. Matt, lead the way for everyone and get the hole started. I'll follow shortly behind with dad. Just-" he trailed off.

Matt nodded in understanding. His brother needed some time alone to process through everything that had happened, to deal with the grief he felt. With that, the younger Eckert began the hike through the woods with the others in tow. Alice began to follow but paused in her steps. She glanced back over her shoulder at Jed. The soldier had his head hung low and his shoulders were slumped in defeat. The blonde female glanced ahead at the group disappearing through the woods before softly approaching Jed. She gently placed a hand on his forearm, and the Marine glanced over at the touch. Though he wasn't crying, his eyes were red and glistened with unshed tears. He was broken.

Alice leaned forward and pulled him into an embrace, and Jed willingly accepted it. Despite the bitterness still alive between them, they deeply cared about the other. Jed rested his head on top of hers and took a shaky breath. Right now, he needed Alice to keep him strong. The grip on her shirt tightened, and his body shook as he fought the tears. The blonde woman simply held onto him fiercely, letting him know she was there for him-that she would always be there for him. After several moments, Jed loosened his hold on her before taking a step back. Her blue eyes gazed up into his own, wanting to make sure he was okay. Jed simply brushed a rogue curl of hers behind her ear.

"Thank you," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm here for you."

"I know." He glanced away from her ever-watchful gaze, his eyes falling onto the trees. "C'mon. We gotta get going before Matt gets worried."

Alice nodded her head before stepping back. She didn't know where things stood between them, but she knew with the world seemingly coming to an end they'd have to get along. Despite the pain he had put her through, she knew that she loved him. But she didn't know if she was willing to give him her heart again. She knew they had to set their differences aside and put years of bitterness on hold in order to survive. And she was willing to do that, but that didn't mean she would fall right back into his arms. She would stand by his side and support his decisions, but they needed time to sort through all the hurt they both felt. Plus, her first priority was Athena, and Jed's was Matt.

"You ready?" Alice asked Jed, who nodded.

He leaned down and hoisted his father up over his shoulders, carrying him the way he would a fallen soldier. He allowed Alice to walk in front of him, leading the way to where the others would be waiting. As they approached, Matt straightened up and glanced in their direction. The hole he had dug wasn't deep but it would suffice.

Gently, Jed laid his father down in the ground. Matt stopped by Jed's side, his eyes watching as Darryl began to cover Tom's body with dirt. Silent tears began to slide down Matt's face once again, and his older brother place a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to give some comfort. Though comfort was hard to give in a situation like this. Words couldn't do the loss of Tom justice, and Jed had no idea what to say once Darryl had finished. The group huddled around the grave, silently offering prayers and condolences.

After a few minutes of silence had passed by, Alice stepped forward with a cross she had quickly made out of two small branches and a couple of hair ties she kept around her wrist. She handed the object to Jed who stepped away from his brother and drove the cross into the ground at the head of the grave. After a second, he removed his dogtags from around his neck and hung it off the wooden frame. Jed stood there, wondering where everything had all gone wrong. He sighed when a small hand gently touched his arm. Alice.

"We need to go," she said quietly, and he nodded reluctantly.

"All right. We need to get back to the truck and find some place to lay low and take cover," he said, instantly falling into the unwanted role of leader. "Let's go." With that, he took off through the trees.

Everyone agreed silently before following after Jed solemnly.


End file.
